“Son Heung-min scores record 59th goal”: Moreno’s side thrash Uzbekistan 2-0 to finish four-match run on a high note

[Financial News] Led by coach Robert Moreno, the South Korean national team defeated Uzbekistan, powered by Son Heung-min’s new record for most career international goals and Oh Se-hun’s clincher, and capped its final home friendly of the year with a win.
South Korea beat Uzbekistan 2-0 in a friendly at Yongin Mireu Stadium on the 6th. With the result, Moreno’s side ended its four-match international schedule in September and October with two wins, one draw and one loss (a 3-0 win over Ecuador, a 1-4 loss to Uruguay, a 0-0 draw with Venezuela and a 2-0 win over Uzbekistan), successfully turning its fortunes around.

South Korea’s sharp attack was firing from the start. In the sixth minute, Son Heung-min sent a free kick he had won himself from just outside the penalty arc into the net with a low, precise right-footed shot.
The goal was Son Heung-min’s 59th in his 151st international appearance. He surpassed the record held by former coach Cha Bum-kun—South Korea’s all-time leading scorer in men’s internationals, with 58 goals in 136 appearances—and moved into sole first place in the record books.


Moreno left Kim Min-jae out of the squad and paired Kim Tae-hyeon with Lee Han-beom at center back. Up front, he deployed Son Heung-min and Oh Se-hun as a strike partnership in a 4-4-2 formation.
After the opening goal, Uzbekistan, coached by Fabio Cannavaro, took control of the game. Uzbekistan pressed hard and had the edge over South Korea in possession (54% to 46%) and shots (12 to 10). But South Korea weathered the pressure thanks to a brilliant display of saves by goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo, who repeatedly stopped the opposition’s dangerous bicycle kick and long-range shots.
After focusing on defense in the first half, South Korea brought on Hwang In-beom and Song Min-gyu for Lee Kang-in and Lee Jae-sung at the start of the second half, regaining control of the midfield. Having seized the initiative again, South Korea scored a clincher in the 15th minute of the second half. Oh Se-hun met a cross from Song Min-gyu on the right with a towering header to make it 2-0. It was Oh’s third international goal.
South Korea then used all eight of its substitutions to assess the players’ abilities and held off Uzbekistan’s late onslaught without conceding. The win extended South Korea’s overall record against Uzbekistan to 12 wins, four draws and one loss, and kept its unbeaten run going since its defeat at the 1994 Hiroshima Asian Games.
Interim coach Moreno is expected to face a final assessment on whether he will remain in charge through next year’s AFC Asian Cup, depending on the results of two friendlies being arranged as an away trip to the Middle East this November.

[email protected] Park Ji-hyun Reporter